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Get It? By Betsy Sheldon
As Keith Stephenson will tell you, things are always busy on the state
legislative front for the With the state leg-
islative committee monitoring not just timeshare-specific, but all regulatory activity in
all 50 states and into the Caribbean, advocating on behalf of the industry and time-
share owners is a 24/7 and 52/12 job.
But over the past few years, ARDA’s director of state government affairs admits
that his energies have been concentrated on educating state lawmakers and elected
officials about vacation ownership. Stephenson is not surprised at the investment of
time and resources required to get busy state legislators up to speed on timesharing.
What has surprised him are cases in which some elected officials have implemented
policies that have resulted in unintended consequences in the name of political expe-
diency. He shares some of his thoughts in this conversation.
What are the challenges of getting legislators to understand
what’s happening in the world of timesharing?
One of the biggest challenges we face is the limited amount of time and attention
elected officials have to work with us during a legislative session year. Furthermore,
they have so many disparate interests to serve — of which timeshare is one small por-
tion. Time is precious, so you can appreciate how difficult it is for the timeshare lobby
to get adequate time and attention among legislative leadership when they are dealing
with hot-button issues such as immigration, Medicaid, higher education, budget
deficits, and minimum wage.
What would you describe as the understanding quotient of the
typical elected official when it comes to timesharing?
Very few elected officials have in-depth knowledge of the specific mechanics of the
timeshare industry. In my experience, elected officials who own timeshare — or whose
family and friends own timeshare — have some understanding of the product because
they have used it. I also find that many elected officials who do not own timeshare,
have never experienced a timeshare stay, and might not live and work in a market that
profits from a diverse hospitality marketplace, look at timeshare with a critical eye.
Neither of these perspectives surprises me. In fact, my friends and family share a
similar understanding of the timeshare product. While there are many factors that con-
tribute to this, I’ll share two that come to mind:
First, the timeshare industry does not have national brand campaigns to promote
awareness like our hotel and lodging cousins do. Through brand marketing and deliv-
ering on the brand experience, everyone knows what hotels and resorts are. As a result
of this emotional awareness, most consumers are loyal to specific hotel brands.
Another reason may be the traveling public’s exposure to prime-time investigative
news stories about resale fraud. Nine out of 10 times, the alleged scam has nothing to
do with the activities of timeshare developers, but rather with third-party resale
RESORTDEVELOPER.COM vacation industry review
JANUARY – MARCH 2015
22
INSIGHT
Do State Governments
Christies Photographic Solutions
ARDA’s Keith
Stephenson
reflects on what
our legislators
do and don’t
know about
timesharing.